Tenn. protesters defy curfew a 3rd time

An arrested woman watches from the ground of the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, while one of her fellow protesters is led away by state troopers. It was the second straight night of arrests after Republican Gov. Bill Haslam imposed a curfew on areas surrounding the Capitol in an effort to disband a three-week demonstration by Wall Street protesters.

Erik Schelzig, Associated Press

Summary

Occupy Wall Street protesters and state officials in Tennessee squared off for a third consecutive night Saturday, even though a local judge has consistently refused to jail the demonstrators.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Occupy Wall Street protesters and state officials in Tennessee squared off for a third consecutive night Saturday, even though a local judge has consistently refused to jail the demonstrators.

The protesters have been galvanized by the friction between state officials and the local magistrate. Several new demonstrators showed up at the state-owned plaza near the Capitol for the first time earlier in the day.

Fifty to 75 people remained after the curfew that started at 10 p.m. CDT and runs until 6 a.m. Police did not immediately move in. In previous nights, the defiance has led to arrests.

The Nashville arrests came after a week of police crackdowns nationwide on Occupy Wall Street activists, who have been protesting economic inequality and what they call corporate greed.

Clashes have occurred in other cities, including Oakland, Calif., Denver and Atlanta.

"My heart has been here all along, but the arrests gave me the momentum to come," said Vicki Metzgar, 61, director of a Nashville Public Schools science and math initiative. "This (plaza) belongs to us, not the politicians."

In Oakland, Calif., an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured during a protest clash with police Tuesday night. In Atlanta, helicopters hovered overhead Wednesday as officers in riot gear arrested more than 50 protesters at a downtown park. In San Diego, police arrested a similar number of people who occupied the Civic Center Plaza and Children's Park for three weeks. And in Denver on Saturday evening, authorities moved into an encampment of protesters and began arresting demonstrators just hours after a standoff near the steps of the Colorado Capitol turned into a skirmish that ended in police force, including pepper spray and reports of rubber bullets.

Nashville magistrate Tom Nelson has said there's no legal reason in his city to keep the demonstrators behind bars and he has released them after each arrest. He has refused each night to sign off on arrest warrants for more than two dozen people taken into custody.

Some legal experts agreed with the judge.

The arrests appeared to be a violation of First Amendment rights that allow for people to peacefully assemble, said attorney David Raybin, a former prosecutor. He and others said the nature of the arrests, coupled with the judge's refusal to sign off on the warrants, could become ammunition for lawsuits.

"The government is exposing itself to serious liability here by doing this," Raybin said.

Nelson did not return an email seeking and a phone number for him could not be found.

State troopers began enforcing the curfew at the Legislative Plaza on Thursday night.

Others questioned the timing of the curfew. The protesters had been demonstrating for about three weeks before it took effect, a point that Nelson said he factored into his decision.

"You can't pass a curfew mid-protest because you disagree with this group of protesters," said criminal defense attorney Patrick Frogge, who is representing some of those arrested.

The state Department of Safety has been carrying out the arrests. Commissioner Bill Gibbons, who until he joined the Haslam administration was the district attorney in Memphis, said he didn't have a role in developing the curfew but assured Haslam his department could enforce it.

Gibbons developed a reputation as an able and tough prosecutor in Memphis, where gang and drug violence have been problems for years. He ran against Haslam for governor in the GOP primary, touting his law-and-order credential and sharply attacking his multi-million-dollar opponent for refusing to divulge how much income he gets from the family-owned chain of Pilot truck stops.

Cecily Friday, one of the original Occupy Nashville protesters, said the administration's attempt to get rid of the demonstrators has "completely backfired."

"Over 1,000 people have been added to our Facebook page since the arrests," she said.

On Saturday afternoon, about 150 people showed up for an Occupy Nashville meeting. Lisa Keylon, a city planner, was there for the first time. She said she was recently in Atlanta, discussing with friends how unorganized the protests seemed, wondering how long they could last.

Then people were arrested in Atlanta, followed by those in Nashville.

"Now people are fired up because their First Amendment rights are being violated," she said.

Among those arrested Friday night was journalist Jonathan Meador, who told troopers he was a reporter covering the story for the Nashville Scene alternative newspaper. On Saturday, the owner of the newspaper sent a letter to Haslam's staff.

"I expect the governor to publicly apologize to him for this violation of his rights and to assure the people of Tennessee that this administration will not interfere with the right to a free press that has been a fundamental right in this country since our founding," SouthComm CEO Chris Ferrell wrote. "I'm sure you understand that every media outlet in this country will vigorously defend our right to cover government action without fear of arrest or reprisal."